From the Weizmann Institute in Isreal. It seems that although we do not metabolize artificial sweeteners, there are microbes that do, and some of those may be in our gut. Then those microbe react as if they have digested sugar, and then our bodies react as if our gut bacteria have digested sugar. Which apparently must be similar to how our bodies react if the gut bacteria digest real sugar. Fascinating!

I have sent a question to the researchers asking about one detail. Their study used mice to show the cause and effect, turning it on and off and back on again in various ways. Then they did a small, 7 person, human trial, that only included one facet of the study. They were able to alter 4 of 7 subjects’ insulin levels by feeding them artificial sweeteners at maximum recommended levels for a week. My question is, what happened later, after that? I hope to get an answer.